Desk privacy partition



April 1961 E. EISENBERG 2,981,583

DESK PRIVACY PARTITION Filed Sept. 29, 1958 INVENTOR. Edward Elsenberg ATTORNEY DESK PRIVACY PARTITION Edward Eisenberg, 20 Pennywood Ave., Roosevelt, N.Y. Filed Sept. 29, 1958, Ser. No. 764,072

3 Claims. (Cl. 312140.4)

This invention relates to privacy partitions, and specifically such as may be attached to the periphery of a desk top.

Where a large number of individuals are working in an oifice in close proximity with one another, it is often desirable from the standpoint of efliciency to shield said individuals from distraction. It has been customary to erect partitions about the various desks to' achieve the desired privacy. Presently known partitions are. secured to the floor and occupy a substantial amount of room within an oflice. Where such partitions have been secured d:rectly to the desk it was heretofore necessary to put screw or bolt holes into the structure of the desk in order to fasten the said partitions thereto. Where the desk top overhangs the body of the desk, it is sometimes possible to clamp the partitions directly to the flange formed thereby. However, many presently used desks have only a very small overhang of the desk top with respect to the body of the desk.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to secure a privacy partition to a desk top.

Another object of the present invention is to attach partitions to a desk top without requiring the use of bolts,

screws or the like.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a securing means for a desk partition which will grip a very small flange area.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a partition securing means which will withstand considerable pressure applied to the top of the partition.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a desk partition structure which may be installed without the use of a large number of tools.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a desk partition structure which may be applied to a wide variety of desks.

A feature of the present invention is its desk engaging hook member.

Another feature of the present invention is its bottom partition rail and hook assembly.

A further feature of the present invention is the use of an offset screw member to improve the desk hook holding properties.

The invention consists of the construction, combination and arrangement of parts, as herein illustrated, described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawing, forming a part hereof is illustrated one form of embodiment of the invention and in which:

Figure 1 is a view in perspective of a complete embodiment of the present invention showing its attachment to a, desk.

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on line 2-2 of Figure 1 looking in the direction of the arrows, on an enlarged scale.

Figure 3 is a view in perspective showing the desk ennited States Patent ICC gaging hook and its clamping screw disassociated therefrom for the purpose of illustration.

Referring to the drawing, and specifically to Figure 1, 10 indicates a desk partitioning device having a bottom rail member 11, and upstanding posts 12. The bottom rail member 11 rests upon the top of a desk 13 and a glass partition'14 or some other suitable shielding structure, is supported at its edges by the rail member 11 and the upstanding posts 12.

The rail 11 is secured to the desk 13 by means of hook members 15. One or more partition members consisting of the bottom rail 11, the posts 12, and the glass partition member 14, may be placed along the edge of the desk 13 and secured thereto by the hooks 15 to provide privacy and shielding for the user of the desk. The partitions are hinged together as shown at 32.

Referring to Figure 2 it will be seen that the bottom rail 11 is formed of opposed upstanding wall members 16 which are spaced from one another and secured at their tops and bottoms by channel shaped members 17, 18. The channel shaped members 17, 18, are welded to the i wall members 16 to form a box-like construction of great strength. The top and bottom channel members 17 are provided with openings 19, 19a for the purpose of receiving therethrough the threaded member 20 of the hook member 15. Openings 21 are provided in the wall member 16 on the outside of the rail 11 to receive the hook 15 therethrough as shown in Figures 1 and 2.

The hook 15 consists of a somewhat E-shaped member having a bottom desk engaging flange 22 and intermediate portion 23 and a top flange structure 24. The intermediate flange 23 is provided with a threaded opening 25 therein for the purpose of receiving the threaded member 20. The topmost flange 24 is bored as indicated at 26 to receive therethrough the threaded member 20. With the threaded member. 20 removed from the hook member 15, the upper portion of the said hook 15 is slipped into the opening 21 in the bottom rail 11. Thereafter, the bottom flange 22 is slipped beneath the top of the desk 13 so that it bears against the small overhang 27 of the desk top 28. The intermediate flange 23 then overlies a bearing plate 29 which is located within the rail member 11 and rests upon the inwardly turned flanged portions 30 of the side walls 16. The ofis-et 33 of the hook 15 enables the upper portion 34 thereof to bear against the inside of the wall 12 and the lower portion 35 to cover the opening 21.

The threaded member is then slipped into the opening 19 of the channel shaped member 17 and through the bore 26 in the top of the hook 15. The threads 31 on the threaded member are engaged in the threaded bore 25 and tightened until the threaded member bears against the plate 29. It will be noted from an examination of Figure 2 that the threaded member 20 is offset at an angle at about 4 from the vertical in the direction of the body of the hook. The offset position of the threaded member 20 directs it at the bottom flange 22 and greatly improves the holding ability of the hook member 15 when subjected to the force of pressure being applied to the top of the partition. After each of the hooking stations have been secured to the desk as shown in Figure l, the partition is rigidly attached to the desk top 28.

In order to remove the partition from the desk it is merely necessary to unscrew the threaded members 20 and slip the hooks 15 out of contact with the desk tops 28. No bolt holes or screw holes will then remain in the desk top to mar its appearance.

It will be seen from the foregoing that there has been provided a device for securing a partition directly to the top of the desk which device will permit firm clamping to desk tops having only a small overhang of the top with Patented Apr. 25, 1961 respect to the body of the desk and which structure may be applied and removed with a minimum amount of difiiculty.

Having thus fully described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

v 1. A desk top privacy partition comprising a partition member, a bottom rail member on said partition, said rail consisting of spaced upstanding wall members and a channel shaped member secured between the Wall members spaced from the top and bottom of said wall members, openings in said rail member, and a desk engaging hook received within each of the said openings between the channel members a downwardly directed, vertically ofiset threaded member in said hook to secure the partition to the desk.

2. A desk top privacy partition comprising a partition member, a bottom rail member on said partition, openings in said rail member, and a desk engaging hook, having a somewhat E-shaped cross section and an off-set portion on the vertical member of said E shape, an opening in the topmost outwardly extending portion of the E-shaped hook, a threaded bore in the central outwardly extending portion of the E-shaped book, an elongated threaded member, received within the bore and opening in the hook, said offset portion being received within each of the said openings to secure the partition to the periphery of the desk.

3. A desk top privacy partition comprising a partition member, a bottom rail member on said partition, said rail consisting of spaced upstanding wall members and a channel shaped member securednbetween the wall members spaced from the top and bottom of said wall members, openings in said rail member, and a desk engaging hook having a somewhate E shaped cross section and an off-set portion on the vertical member of said E shape, an open ing in the topmost outwardly extending portion of the E-shaped hook, a threaded bore in the central outwardly extending portion of the E-shaped hook, an elongated threaded member, received within the bore and openings in the hook, said ofiset portion being received within each of the said openings between the channel members to secure the partition to the desk.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 292,207 Corbett Ian. 22, 1884 736,938 Clark Aug..25, 1903 995,410 Mi: Clure; June 13, 1911. 1,264,412 MacDonald Apr. 3.0, 1918 1,587,803 Sprigg June 8, 1926. 2,209,564 Grubb July 30, 1940 2,485,907 Montoya Oct. 25, 1949 2,488,804 Christensen Nov. 22, 1949 2,688,525 Lindstrom Sept. 7, 1954- 2,694,614 Dent Nov. 16, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 757,706 France Dec. 30, 1933 

